British Cycling has selected a team of 12 young people to become part of a National Youth Forum and play a key role in shaping the future of cycle sport.

The National Youth Reps are all volunteers at British Cycling Go-Ride clubs across the country and will now be helping to develop opportunities for their young peers, providing the chance for others to ride, race and volunteer.

British Cycling’s Go-Ride programme is a network of cycling clubs, which provide a fun and safe way to introduce young riders to the world of cycle sport. The aim of the National Youth Forum is to empower young people, who will influence British Cycling initiatives and the future of the programme.

The youngsters will now meet on a quarterly basis with British Cycling HQ. The inaugural session took place on Saturday 28 June at Manchester’s National Cycling Centre, where the group set out the aims for the upcoming year.

John Mills, British Cycling Director of Coaching, Education and Development, said: “It was a very tough application process and we were overwhelmed by the strength of the candidates who put themselves forward for the role.

“The young people have already made a huge impact on cycling in their area through their roles as dedicated volunteers. We are now keen to give them the opportunity to be the voice of youth riders and help to shape the sport.”

The National Youth Reps have all achieved a Gold Award, as part of the Cycling Award for Young Volunteers programme developed by British Cycling. This means they have demonstrated a continued commitment to volunteering at their local cycling club.

Hazel Jowett said:
“I am very excited to join the very first National Youth Forum at British Cycling. I wanted to be involved in the National Youth Forum so that my opinions and views are heard by a larger audience and so that my ideas can be turned in to real activities.”

The number of young people taking part in cycling as a sport is soaring. This is demonstrated by the increase in young people taking up British Cycling membership – topping 11,000 members for the first time. The Go-Ride programme has provided over 410,000 opportunities for young people to get involved with cycle sport in the past four years.